The Girl in The Mirror
by PerditaAlottachocolate
Summary: They say mirrors don't lie. But what about Ladybug who comes through Marinette's mirror one day? She's from future, she doesn't remember much, and she has a hell of an attitude. Is she telling the truth? Should Marinette take her advice to heart and trust herself, or is this all tricks and mirrors? A Marinette March connected story.
1. Kindness

_Author's Note: It's been a while since I posted a multichapter fic. These past few months were really bad for me on personal level and lately I felt I missed writing. The prompts from Marinette March event on tumblr inspired me to create this. I can't promise I'll be updating daily although that's the plan. I hope you'll stick with me and see where this goes. _

_Thank you Remasa, for appreciating this idea. I don't think I'd get to writing if it wasn't for your encouragement. _

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**#1. Kindness**

It came out of nowhere and without any warning.

At first Marinette thought maybe she was just tired or Tikki was pranking her. The feeling of being watched sent shivers down her spine, but it didn't seem dangerous. It didn't feel like stalking, more like positive attention the source of which she couldn't pinpoint. A watchful eye guarding her, cheering for her, caring. Wherever she went, be it in her civilian or Ladybug form, the tingling shivers would appear in a flash and soon disappear without any follow up.

Marinette started glimpsing over her shoulder, scanning her surroundings, whenever tickles crawled over her skin, but her search was futile. There was no one there. No one was watching. Yet the sensation wouldn't leave her alone. Then one of the battles led Ladybug and Chat Noir into a house of mirrors and the feeling returned in tenfold. That's when Marinette stopped looking over her shoulder and started searching her own reflection.

Something was off. But it didn't feel wrong, just weird. From the mirror kind eyes were looking back at her, with so much warmth and kindness that sometimes, especially after a particularly bad day she'd wonder, if she really looked at the world this way. If that look was what people saw in her eyes.

Because if it felt so good to be on the receiving end of her own gaze, it must have been even more intense coming from another person…

It said a lot about Marinette that she didn't take on the habit of looking into mirrors more often. Other people would probably get lost in that warmth stare. But not her. She still merely glimpsed at her reflection, only from time to time, trying to understand what she was seeing and feeling. Sometimes, when she looked into the mirror the eyes seemed more tired than she should have been, nostalgic at moments, longing at others. As if they'd seen more years passing in front of them. More years than she felt on her shoulders.

Surprisingly she wasn't the only one who noticed.

A few times she caught Adrien staring at her reflection in a mirror or a window with a thoughtful frown. When caught he'd feign looking at his own image, playing the model boy card. Marinette didn't buy it. He was most definitely inspecting her reflection, and continued to do it, though less blatantly than at first.

But it wasn't until Chat Noir started checking Ladybug's image in every reflective surface they would happen to pass by, that Marinette finally recognized the most crucial detail.

Spots.

Her reflection, even in civilian form, had very subtle, yet unmistakable spots. One dot over the bridge of her nose, two half-dots where her eyebrows would arch under her forehead, and two other on cheek bones. And if she looked long enough, she could also notice the delicate pattern of the red mask she donned as Paris's beloved heroine.

Tikki was baffled and her jokes about Marinette's heroic personality shining through didn't improve the mood at all. The girl found a little consolation in the fact that apart from one of her classmates no one took interest in her reflection and as Adrien never brought the subject up, she hoped it meant he hadn't discovered the phenomenon. After those few times Marinette carefully placed herself away from any mirrors or windows when in his company, not wanting to give him even the slightest chance to make any sort of connection. Secret identities were secret for a reason, no matter what mirrors of Paris thought.

And slowly Marinette got used to the kind eyes behind the red mask looking back at her from the glass. As nothing happened for days, her and Tikki became less and less concerned.

That day Marinette danced excitedly around her room, vibrating with pride. Her newest design turned out better, than she had envisioned. The black halter top dress with a red polka dotted circle skirt, that swished with every move made her feel like a princess. The idea came to her after Adrien had announced her their everyday Ladybug and the encouraging look of the kind eyes in the mirror spurred her to complete the project.

Now she twirled happily in front of her mirror thinking, how to get invited to a show she could stop, because this was definitely a show stopper if she ever saw one. Just for a laugh she cocked a hip flirtatiously shooting herself a saucy wink. She wished she could be as bold with Adrien. She'd confess in a blink.

'Hey, beautiful,' she giggled to the glass and stroked her own image with a finger. A sparkle jumped onto her skin as she quickly withdrew her hand.

From the other side her reflection winked back at her, the corners of the red mask lifting up in a smile.

'Hello, Marinette!' the Ladybug in the mirror said, rising to the surface. 'I'm so glad to finally meet you.'

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_AN: If you like this story, if you're curious, please leave a review, let me know you want me to continue. Your reactions motivate me to write more. _


	2. Pre-Origins

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for your reviews, favs and follows. I was reluctant to post this story, so knowing you liked it made me really happy._

_A big thank you goes to Remasa for beta-reading this chapter._

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**#2. Pre-Origins**

If Marinette had kept a list of the most weird things that happened to her, this event would probably make it. Not very high though, considering how she dealt with akuma-level weirdness on a daily basis.

Being eaten by a T-rex? Chasing after a testy giant baby way after bedtime? Seeing her leather clad partner acting like a real cat? Having a nightmare version of her crush following her around Paris and babbling about Chloe and hamsters? Swimming over the streets in search for a syren? Saving a liar who turned into a clam? Sure, _those _were weird.

This wasn't even the first time she saw another Ladybug in the same place as her. Ha! It wasn't even the second!

But she had to admit that it still was weird to some extent when someone who just a moment ago seemed to be your own reflection greeted you and then without any preamble entered your room via mirror.

'Ah, sweet macarons,' Mirror Ladybug sighed. 'It's so good to finally be able to stretch my limbs!'

She made a series of stretches and bends with far too much enthusiasm for such a simple exercise.

Tikki hovered over Marinette's shoulder, her eyes glued to the red figure. Her brow furrowed. Marinette cleared her throat, trying to catch the newcomer's attention, but her kwami beat her to it.

'Who are you?' the little sprite asked warily.

Mirror Ladybug straightened up and looked between the two of them. She cocked a brow, then looked to her spotted suit, to the mirror - where her equally spotted reflection could be seen clear as day. Then she shot Tikki an amused look, that seemed to say "Really?".

The red kwami folded her paws over her chest. The black dot on her forehead creased in an extremely unimpressed frown.

'Why are you here? This isn't your time.'

It didn't take a genius to notice that, too, but if Marinette was honest with herself, she rather liked what she saw. Mirror Ladybug was taller than her fourteen years old self by a good few centimeters. Her figure was more pronounced, screaming adult womanhood in big red letters. Her hair was shorter too. She had dropped the pigtails and adopted a cute pixie cut. The suit had gone through some serious development as well. Gone was the spandex onesie vibe - this was a suit worthy of a heroine and a super-leader. With a few tricks, strategically placed insets and details - things Marinette as a designer really should have thought of much earlier, if not right away - it converted the overly simplistic design into something any woman would be proud to wear in the battlefield. And as it happened it brought out all the assets of Ladybug's figure, while drawing attention away from those details Marinette always wanted to hide.

The heroine oozed confidence and calm at a level Marinette was aspiring to. She seemed comfortable in her suit as if it was her own skin. And after the years she must have spent in it maybe it was?

But now, under Tikki's steady gaze Ladybug blinked once, twice, her cheeky smile shifting into a frown of confusion.

'I don't remember,' she whispered narrowing her eyes, as if this could jog her memory. 'I… I don't remember…' she repeated. 'Isn't there an akuma to fight?' She looked around as if expecting a supervillain to jump from behind the chaise or wardrobe.

'Not that we're aware of,' Marinette replied gently. 'What do you remember?'

Ladybug whipped her head back to the mirror and inhaled sharply. 'Coming through there…' she said after a while. 'And… watching… you?' she cast Marinette an uncertain look.

The girl nodded encouragingly.

'And… And that's it.'

'How long have you been there?' Marinette asked, recalling that it's been weeks since she started feeling someone watching her.

Ladybug bit her lip in effort. 'I don't know,' she shook her head helplessly. She sank to the chaise. 'There was an akuma,' she recalled. 'We were fighting and then… nothing,' she shrugged shaking her head again. 'Ugh, I hate this,' she complained, fists clenched, expression stern. 'The akuma didn't even have such powers to send me back in time, or lock me in a mirror, whatever,' she seemed to be talking to herself, her voice laced with panic.

Marinette and Tikki exchanged looks. The little sprite, though clearly concerned, wasn't unkind. She flew to Ladybug, followed by her chosen.

'You need to calm down,' the kwami announced. 'You most certainly know this by now, that you need to keep your cool in such circumstances.'

Ladybug raised her eyes to the red sprite. She took a deep breath. 'You're right. I do.'

'We'll help you,' Marinette piped in. Tikki sent her a warning glare. 'I mean… when we find out how to…' she backpedalled.

'Thanks, sweetie,' the heroine sighed. 'Being helpless is one of the things I hate most.'

Marinette knew that feeling too well. It was her worst nightmare for a reason. She wondered if that meant Ladybug really was her older self. Could she trust her? Tikki seemed reluctant to do so, but maybe… maybe it would be easier for them both to trust… themselves?

'Why don't you drop your transformation and rest,' the girl offered. 'I'll bring something to eat and we can all brainstorm or something? After all four heads are better than three!' she chirped, desperately trying to keep her tone cheerful.

Ladybug looked to Tikki. The kwami frowned at Marinette's suggestion. Would it be weird for her to have another version of herself around? Marinette didn't mind, but maybe it was different with kwamis?

Finally Tikki nodded and Ladybug uttered the spell.

'Tikki, spots off!'

Pink sparkles covered the red figure, drowning the room in bright light. And when it faded away...

'Oh,' Ladybug looked at her suit, still in place. She touched her mask with a gloved hand. She looked to the mirror. 'Uh-oh.'

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_AN: That's all for today. See you tomorrow! Let me know, how you liked this chapter. You can also visit me on tumblr: perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com _


	3. Tea time

**#3. Tea time**

Tea tasted good. The strange coven of three in Marinette's room drank the brown liquid in silence, nibbling on some treats she brought from the bakery. No one said anything about the red spotted elephant in the room since it turned out Mirror Ladybug couldn't drop her transformation. The silence was slowly becoming too much for Marinette.

'You really don't remember anything?' the girl finally burst.

Ladybug hung her head. 'Sorry, sweetie. Last thing I remember - and even that barely - is being in the middle of a battle. I don't even think it was anything significant or important,' she shrugged. 'Just a regular akuma with our regular "victim",' she curled her fingers marking the air quotes at the last word. That rang a bell.

'Chloe or Lila?' Marinette asked.

Tikki snorted into her thimble, while Ladybug chuckled sourly. 'Lila,' she confirmed. 'It's not that easy to akumatize Chloe anymore,' she added.

The red kwami gasped in indignation and narrowed her eyes at the guest. 'No details from the future!' She chided.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and nodded. 'Right. _Secrets_,' she uttered under her breath, although loud enough for Marinette to hear. The girl shot her with curious look, but the heroine shook her head. 'Don't worry, Tikki. I know the drill.'

The little sprite bowed at that. She cleared her throat. 'Let's see what we know so far, shall we?' she turned to Ladybug.

The heroine stayed quiet for a while. 'I remember seeing Marinette through the glass,' she finally said. 'It felt like a dream, like memories passing in front of my eyes.'

'That's a start,' Tikki nodded encouragingly.

'The space was timeless, or at least it felt this way. And then you,' Ladybug pointed to Marinette, 'put on my favorite dress and danced in front of the mirror. I remember your happiness and maybe that drove me in? I remember a current rushing through me when you spoke. I wanted to reply and… the glass gave way and let me inside.'

'Interesting,' Tikki scratched her chin. 'And you don't remember how you got inside the mirror dimension in the first place? Or why?'

Ladybug shook her head.

'Okay. Do you remember things from earlier? Like, before the battle?' the sprite continued. 'What were you doing? Who had been there?'

The heroine shrugged. 'It's kind of hard to tell. Regular stuff I guess? Breakfast, work, my coworkers, my fiancé,' she listed, but then paused.

Marinette, who perked up at the mention of the significant other, picked up a sudden change in her mood. 'What is it?' She asked.

'I don't remember them,' Ladybug whispered, horrified. 'I remember shapes of some people, but I can't recall how they looked like, what were their names. I… I don't remember my fiancé!' She cried. 'I don't even remember his name!' Her chest heaved with every shallow breath.

Marinette looked to Tikki. 'What does it all mean?'

'This isn't good,' the kwami muttered. 'And there's no easy answer.' She flew to Ladybug. 'I need you to tell me if you remember any of this,' she gestured her paws over the room and the three of them. 'Meeting your older self stuck in a time loop? Any visitors from the future?'

Ladybug froze at that, her face twisting in a grimace of pain.

'Why?' Marinette blurted out. 'Is it important?'

The heroine put her hand on Marinette's shoulder. 'It is,' she said, casting a glance at Tikki. 'If I remembered, it would mean this is part of our - mine and your - lifetime. That this was supposed to happen at some point.'

'And?'

'And that would mean I could be less careful about what I say or do, because the risk of screwing the timeline would be small. After all, it already happened for me,' she explained, while Tikki nodded proudly. 'But I don't remember anything like that,' she shook her head sadly. 'My memory feels like swiss cheese,' she chuckled. 'Full of holes,' she added seeing Marinette's clueless expression. And then she paused and blinked. 'And I have no idea why I used that example.'

Tikki sent her another searching look. 'You not remembering this as Marinette doesn't mean it didn't happen in your time. Your memory loss is baffling,' she mused. 'And I can't even guess what's the cause.'

'What do you mean?'

The kwami sighed. 'It might be an effect of whatever power sent you here. It might be a result of an injury. It might have been caused by shock. Or - and I guess that would be one of the worst options - your memories didn't align with this universe or timeline, and they got erased.'

Ladybug gasped at that. Marinette fought the urge to envelop her in tight embrace. Losing one's memories was a terrible thing, but she wasn't sure her guest would appreciate that now.

'So this is going to last?' Ladybug voiced Marinette's worse fear.

'I don't know,' Tikki sniffed. 'I'm really sorry.'

'B-but… if this is shock or time travel or something, it might be temporary?' Marinette asked.

'Yeah,' the kwami sighed. 'At least I hope so.'

Ladybug pursed her lips. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Marinette observed as the anguished look from her face got replaced with determination.

'I guess we'll find out at some point.' the heroine declared. She was back to her confident self, in control, despite all the things fate threw at her.

Marinette felt a bit proud that this might be who she'd grow into. Even if the part about losing her memories scared her stiff.

Ladybug yawned. 'I could use a catnap,' she said eyeing the loft bed. 'Has Tikki told you yet about the importance of naps?' she scratched her chin. 'Or maybe it was someone else?'

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_Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews, favs and follows. They make me want to continue!_

_And many thanks to Remasa for beta reading this story. Check out her works, I love her stories!_


	4. Affection

**#4. Affection**

Ladybug was snoring. Loudly. She was sprawled on the loft bed. It had been decided this was the safest place in case someone came to the attic. Currently she was snorting her lungs out and Marinette found it extremely hard to focus on her homework.

'Tikki,' the girl whispered. 'Do I snore in my sleep?'

The kwami giggled happily. 'Sometimes.'

Marinette's lips twisted in horror. 'As loud as this?'

Tikki scrunched her nose. 'Only when your nose is stuffed.'

'Thank god.'

She finished her math and literature assignment while the noise filled the space under the roof. Marinette nudged Tikki with a finger.

'What do you think of Ladybug?' she nodded in the bed's direction.

Her kwami frowned. 'I don't have an opinion yet,' she replied. 'She seems to be a Ladybug you could grow into, but… I'm not sure we should fully trust her. There are too many unanswered questions here.'

'So you think this might be a trick? That she's not really me?'

'I don't know who or what she is.'

'I get it,' Marinette sighed. 'But I feel she's me. Older me, I mean.'

'Or she knows you really well and uses that knowledge,' Tikki rubbed her temple. 'I'm worried.'

'What should we do then? Ask her to leave? Without the ability to detransform? Or memories?'

'No,' the kwami shook her head. 'Of course we need to help her. And if she's here because of miraculous magic we might be her best shot at going back.'

'So… We just need to be careful?' Marinette offered.

'Something like that,' Tikki muttered darkly. 'Lots of time loops in this kind of business, since Nooroo can grant time-based powers, but mark my words, it always ends in a mess.'

After a while Tikki got tired and drifted off in a basket full of wool. Marinette was left alone with her thoughts until a particularly exuberant snore disturbed the silence. It was followed by drowsy smacking of lips and then their guest stirred over the sheets.

'Wow, I forgot I had this board next to my bed,' Ladybug said. 'Our girl squad, the class,' she murmured, her voice soft, laced with affection. 'Oh look, and there's Adrien,' she giggled. 'Ah, those were the times!'

She rolled to the edge and jumped to slide down the railing. She landed in the middle of the pink carpet in a graceful crouch and looked over the walls. There were far less posters of Adrien there these days, but Ladybug seemed to see also those pictures that had been taken down.

Marinette stiffened next to Adrien's framed photograph. Her lips stretched in a toothy grin.

'Those are… er… inspiration… you know…' she stuttered.

'Relax, Marinette,' Ladybug winked at her. 'I know _exactly_ what kind of things these inspired.'

'Will it get… better?'

The heroine paused at that. 'I couldn't tell you even if I remembered,' she muttered sadly. 'But I think it does.'

She strolled over to the desk, where the post-its from the Operation "Secret Garden" rested in a pile, long forgotten. She smiled at the little doodles.

'Alya has a real talent for convoluted plans, doesn't she?' the heroine pointed out. 'And she never checks her sources.' Something dark passed through her face.

'Sometimes she's just too trustful,' Marinette felt she should defend her best friend, even from herself.

Ladybug sent her a long stare. 'Especially with some people.'

The girl averted her eyes. Lila's return to the school was still a sore spot and even if things quickly went back to normal as the seats went, Marinette felt this wasn't over yet.

Her guest spun around in the desk chair. She seemed deep in thought. Her gaze travelled over the pictures on the walls, the post-its, the schedule chart and the prints of Lila's videos Marinette had saved for closer inspection.

'I may not remember much,' Ladybug murmured under her breath, keeping an eye on the sleeping kwami. 'And I probably should mind my own business. But seeing as this once _had been_ my business,' she smirked, 'I think I would like to take care of a few things while I'm here.'

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_Author's Note: Hey, how do you like it so far? I'd love to hear what you think. _

_This chapter was beta-read by Remasa, for which I am utterly grateful. _

_Till tomorrow!_


	5. Garden

**#5. Garden**

Marinette didn't remember getting to bed nor falling asleep. And yet here she was, tucked comfortably under her blankets, while the daylight filtered through the skylight above her head. She blinked a few times to chase the sleep away.

Apart from her kwami still curled in her basket the room was empty. No signs of heroines from the future. Had it been just a dream? Or maybe Ladybug got the thing she had come here for and left? Marinette felt she wouldn't have disappeared without at least a goodbye. But maybe Tikki was right in her suspicions - this wasn't future Marinette, but someone or something trying to get into their good graces to trick them?

There probably was more than one Lila in this world, she thought bitterly.

And here she hoped Mirror Ladybug could be like an older sister she never had. She seemed so confident and in control, way above the insecurities every teenage girl nurtured in her heart. She must have _known_ things, _done _things. Not the secrets of the future Tikki was so adamant on keeping hidden, but the mundane matters that wouldn't put them at risk of ruining the timeline. Like… how to make a boy interested? How to ask him out? How to casually drop into conversation that you're madly in love with him and you've already picked the names for your three children, but you'll let him name the hamsters?

Marinette sighed. No shortcuts for her then. She was about to get down when she heard a voice from the skylight. Was it… singing? The girl was certain she heard whistling and then a murmur of a song.

Carefully she got up and peeked outside. There was a stranger on her balcony, in long reddish-brown trench and a red wide-brim fedora.

Marinette blinked, not sure if the early morning sun wasn't playing a trick on her. For a moment she thought Carmen Sandiego decided to visit her and tend to her flowers, but then the stranger turned around and she saw the spotted mask under the brim.

'Morning, Marinette!' Ladybug exclaimed, a broad grin on her face.

'Morning,' Marinette said automatically. 'What are you doing here?'

'Ah, sorry. I couldn't sleep and I decided to get some fresh air,' the heroine gestured to her surroundings. 'And then I thought that maybe I could help you with the flowers. I hope you don't mind but…'

Marinette climbed to the balcony. Only then she saw that Ladybug did more than just water the plants. The roses had been clipped. The dry stalks of lavender had been cut and tied with a red ribbon, left aside for further use. Other plants got stripped of dead leaves. The soil in the pots had been loosen and some of the containers had changed places to get a better access to sunlight.

Marinette had been planning on doing all these chores for a long time, yet as it was often the case, akuma after akuma after homework happened and _somehow _she never got to it.

'I… wow. Thank you,' she stuttered inspecting the final result. 'You didn't have to.'

'I wanted to,' Ladybug smiled brightly. 'It always helped me think and I was also in a mood for singing. I thought you probably didn't have time to talk to them lately, with the superhero business and all.' She stroke a large leaf of the bonsai with care and fondness that was almost palpable.

Marinette's heart melted a little bit at the gesture. She did the same. She even had her favorite leaves to pet. And she did talk to her flowers when she had the chance. Could a stranger really know so intimate details of her life?

'What do you think you're doing?!' She heard Tikki's hiss from the skylight.

'Gardening?' Ladybug raised a brow in confusion.

'Someone could see you!' The kwami bristled.

The heroine rolled her eyes. 'I lost my memories, not my brains,' she shrugged. 'Hence the disguise,' she twirled in her coat and skewed the fedora to one side, giving herself a roguish look. 'Last think I'd want is to get Marinette or my parents in trouble.'

'See, Tikki,' Marinette felt she should defend her guest. 'No harm done.'

'Well,' the kwami huffed. 'You could have picked something less showy,' she grumbled acidly, 'if you're so adamant about not drawing attention.'

Ladybug giggled. 'Maybe a straw hat and some dungarees?'

She winked at Marinette who snickered herself. She finally had an ally in her conflicts with Tikki.

'Wait a second,' the sprite narrowed her eyes and flew over to the heroine. 'Just.. where did you get those?' She shouted grabbing a fistful of the brownish trench.

Oh, that was a valid question, Marinette thought. Why hadn't it crossed her mind earlier?

Ladybug stiffened. 'Um…' she wrung her hands. 'Lucky Charm!' she whispered.

Plop!

A wide-brim red fedora, similar to the one she was wearing, popped into existence in front of her. She caught it before it hit the ground.

'For you,' she passed it to Marinette.

'WHAT?' the girl and the kwami screeched in unison.

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_Author's Note:. This chapter hasn't been beta read. I hope it wasn't bad. I'm grateful for all your reviews, favs and follows. They make me want to write more._

_Next time – creation! See you tomorrow!_


	6. Creation

_Author's Note: Last time I totally forgot about a crossover art I drew for Carmen Buggaboo AU (you can find it here if you're curious: perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com [slash] post [slash] 182347629193 [slash] carmen-sandiego-buggaboo-au-i-can-totally-see-this , or just go to my blog and check under the Carmen Sandiego tag)_

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**#6. Creation**

Tikki looked like she was about to explode. She buzzed through Marinette's room like a mad hornet, like a little red pinball of anger.

'This is NOT how infinite Lucky Charms work!' she ranted.

Marinette and Ladybug sat on the chaise and watched the kwami's journey over the room.

'Infinite Lucky Charms?' the girl whispered.

'Have you found the potions?' the heroine whispered back.

Marinette nodded slightly.

'It's the purple one.'

'You used a potion to conjure up a disguise?' The younger girl gasped.

'That's what I'd like to know!' Tikki bellowed coming to a halt right in front of them. 'That's irresponsible! That's foolish! That's a waste of valuable potion!'

Ladybug didn't seem even a little bit perturbed. She observed the kwami's ire with cool that could rival an iceberg. For Marinette it was quite a feast, not to mention a comical twist of fate, to see Tikki losing her composure but her protégé from the future remaining calm.

'I don't remember using the potion,' the heroine said.

That seemed to shut the sprite up.

'I mean I assume I must have used it at some point,' Ladybug continued in the same level tone. 'And since I can't detransform it's still working.'

Tikki made a little whining sound and rubbed the bridge of her nose. 'That. Is. NOT. How. Lucky. Charm. Works!' She barked.

'It seems to work just fine,' Ladybug shrugged. 'Lucky Charm,' she murmured under her breath.

Plop!

A pair of fluffy red slippers dropped into her hands. She immediately put them on.

'Lucky Charm. Lucky Charm. Lucky Charm.'

Plop. Plop. Plop.

A dressing gown. A toothbrush. A bucket.

Marinette couldn't swallow the snicker that escaped her even if she tried, earning herself a dark glare from Tikki.

'For the record,' the kwami muttered, 'I blame Plagg for this. That must have been his influence.'

'Ah, Sugar _Cuuuube_,' Ladybug drawled in a nasal voice, a pretty good impression of the black cat kwami. 'I'm wounded.'

This time even Tikki had difficulties with keeping a straight face. Ladybug blew her a kiss. She hung the trench and the fedora on the mannequin in the corner and then wrapped herself in the dressing gown.

'Shouldn't the charms disappear?' Marinette prodded the red bucket. It seemed pretty solid for something that came out of thin air. And spotted, if you looked close enough. It was the first time she touched a Lucky Charm with bare hands.

'They should,' Tikki huffed.

'Only when I cast Miraculous Ladybug or detransform,' Ladybug countered. 'And since I can't detransform...'

'Cast Miraculous Ladybug,' the kwami demanded.

'Excuse me?' the heroine cocked a brow.

'You heard me. Cast Miraculous Ladybug,' Tikki repeated.

'What for? There's nothing that needs to be fix-, 'Ladybug paused and blinked, but then shook her head, 'nothing needs fixing here.'

'Doesn't matter. Cast the spell.'

'If you insist,' the heroine rolled her eyes.

She picked the bucket and tossed it into the air. 'Miraculous Ladybug!' she whisper-cried.

The bucket rose up almost to the ceiling and then responded to gravity's call.

Bam!

It landed in the middle of the floor and spun on its edge. Not even half a ladybug showed up.

'That's a first,' Tikki hummed under her breath. 'Hey! Put it down!'

Ladybug snatched the bucket and made a beeline for the balcony.

'Sorry! It's an emergency!' she shot at them before leaping through the skylight.

Was it Marinette's imagination or did she look a little more green than she should?

'What emergency?' Tikki frowned.

The sounds of retching that came from the roof were here only answer.

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_AN: This chapter hasn't been betaread. If you liked this story and this chapter, please, let me know. Follows, favs and reviews show me the story is worth continuing. I write it day to day._

_Next time – Side effects, ooooooh! Till tomorrow!_


	7. Side effects

**#7. Side effects**

The tray was full and even though Marinette was used to carrying things up the stairs, she had trouble not dropping anything. Water, sliced lemon, ginger, tea, peppermint oil, fresh bread rolls. Basically anything she could think of that a nauseous person might need.

Ladybug sent her a weak smile when she entered the attic. The heroine was resting on the chaise, the red bucket at her side.

'I'd ask you to kill me if I wasn't afraid of paradoxes,' she rasped reaching for the water.

'How do you feel?' Marinette sat beside her. She looked to Tikki, who took a strategic position above the chaise. The kwami was as worried as Marinette herself.

'Better, I think?' Ladybug pulled herself to sitting position. 'I haven't been sick in 20 minutes, so that's a plus.'

'She's too weak,' the sprite commented. 'She can barely move a finger.'

'Hey, it's not that bad!' the older girl protested. 'I'm okay, see? Fit as a fiddle.'

She stood up and made an attempt at a pirouette, which in fact turned out to be more like a big collapse. Marinette caught her halfway to the floor and helped her down to the sofa.

'Yeah, I see,' Tikki muttered darkly.

'Maybe you'd feel better if you ate something?' Marinette picked up a bread roll and offered it to Ladybug.

The heroine made a little gagging sound. She pushed Marinette's hand away. 'No, thank you,' she choked out. 'Water will be fine for now.'

'You're not feverish,' the sprite noticed. 'And we all had the cookies and tea yesterday evening, so this can't be food poisoning.'

'Food poisoning at Dupain-Chengs?' Marinette gasped in indignation.

'I know, I know. But we need to take everything into consideration.'

'Well, this definitely isn't food poisoning,' Ladybug took another sip of water. She inspected the contents of the tray, after all the food had been moved out of her sight. 'Peppermint oil?'

She unscrew the cap and put a few drops of oil on her fingers. Then she started to rub it into her temples. 'This is nice.'

'_Anyway…_' Tikki sent her an annoyed look. 'Best explanation I can come up with now are side effects.'

'Side effects?' Marinette echoed. Side effects didn't sound encouraging. Especially when they belonged in the red bucket.

'Of the time skip, interdimensional travel,' the kwami waved her paws irritably, 'whatever is happening here. That's actually one of the most frequent symptoms in these cases. I was surprised you seemed fine yesterday.'

'So you mean it's like the memory loss?' Ladybug bit her lip thoughtfully.

'Yes. And like with memory loss, I don't know if this is permanent or not, depending on the cause.'

'I see.'

'Don't worry, we'll figure something out,' Marinette decided to step in. 'We'll take you to the guardian when you feel better.'

Tikki whipped her head to Marinette, her eyes narrowed in silent warning.

Ladybug chuckled. 'I can take myself if I want to. Master Fu's address is one of the few things I happen to remember.' She dropped to cushions again. 'But yeah, I am in no state for a visit right now.'

She took a few more drops of the peppermint oil and inhaled deeply.

The kwami scrunched her nose. 'I don't know how does this stink make you feel better,' she grumbled. 'I'll be on the balcony if you need me.' With that parting remark she flew away to the skylight.

Ladybug shrugged and started to rub more oil into the exposed bits of her skin - on her neck and forehead. She passed the bottle to Marinette.

'You should try it sometime. It's really relaxing,' she sighed. 'Ah, this takes me back…'

'Aren't you worried about these side effects,' Marinette eyed her suspiciously. She took some oil herself and brought it to her nose.

'Nah.'

'Why?' the girl frowned. 'I'm worried sick.'

'That's understandable,' Ladybug nodded, closing her eyes and rubbing soothing circles over her temples. 'You constantly worry about everyone. That's admirable and terribly exhausting. You should worry about yourself more, Marinette. You should _care_ about yourself more.'

'But your nausea and the memories…'

'Ah, I wouldn't worry about that, sweetie,' the heroine popped one eye open and checked if they were alone. 'Because I just remembered something,' she whispered.

'You did?' Marinette straightened up.

'I was sent into the past to fix something.'

'To fix what?' Now the girl moved closer, as if Ladybug was about to introduce her to a great secret.

'I have absolutely no idea,' the heroine settled back on the cushions with a carefree smile. 'But don't worry. I'll figure it out. We always do eventually.'

* * *

_Author's Note: Now that the introduction arc is over it's time for some action (and angst because reasons)! Stay tuned for Day 8 – Partners! Thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows so far. They make me happy!_


	8. Partners

**#8. Partners**

Tikki was reluctant to leave Ladybug alone in Marinette's room, but it was Monday and Marinette just had to go to school. Their guest from the future seemed to be feeling better so they left her to sleep in the loft bed. Food and drink waited on the desk for when she'd wake up, as well as the red bucket.

Thus here Marinette was, marching to class and dwelling on how to help Ladybug accomplish her still unknown task and return to her time. And from the entrance marched the XXI century incarnation of an ancient Greek god, who went by the name of Adrien Agreste. Marinette's heart fluttered as soon as she saw him heading in her direction. The look on his face could only be described as determination, although it was replaced by a soft smile as soon as he noticed Marinette.

'Hi,' he greeted, casting an anxious look to their surroundings. 'Can we… um… talk before the classes start?'

'Sure,' Marinette tried to act casual despite the spike of panic at the sight of a pocket mirror in his hands. 'What's up?'

'I don't know if you noticed…' Adrien fiddled with the mirror. 'A few times I saw you looked like… It would be easier to show you so if you could just look in here-' he opened the mirror and slid it in front of her face.

Marinette felt the rush of blood. So he really saw the mask in her reflection. Ah, she was in luck again. Ladybug had left the mirror dimension. She was no longer entwined with Marinette's reflection. This was a chance to divert Adrien's suspicion and to throw him off her trail.

'A mirror?' she feigned surprise. 'No problem.'

Adrien leaned in, undoubtedly to check her reflection himself. Well, no such luck, model boy. Because what would show up in the mirror would be the face of-

'Ladybug?' they exclaimed in unison.

'You need to evacuate,' Ladybug said reaching for the pocket mirror over Marinette's shoulder. She closed it and handed it back to Adrien. 'There's an akuma nearby.'

'Who are y-?' the boy choked out but the heroine already had her arm around Marinette.

'Hide,' she ordered. 'I'll take the girl to safety.'

She didn't even give him a chance to reply, just swung up and away.

'Hey,' Marinette scoffed as soon as they landed on the roof, 'why did you do that?'

'He was up to something with that mirror,' Ladybug scanned the horizon. 'I don't trust him.'

The sky seemed to entertain more objects than usual, but Marinette's attention was focused solely on her future self.

'Even if he was up to something, that was a perfect occasion to prove I'm not Ladybug.'

'That isn't important right now,' the heroine put her hand on Marinette's shoulder. 'I remembered something about-'

'Leave her alone!' They heard a voice a few feet away.

Chat's baton landed between the girls. Its owner leaped onto the roof. 'Who are you?!' He eyed the older Ladybug.

'Chat, look out!' Marinette yelled.

Too late.

Ladybug was already carrying her to another roof when the projectile made contact with Chat Noir's back. One quiet "pop" later a black cat shaped balloon with an electric green ribbon floated up to join its comrades of many funny animal shapes in the clouds. In the middle of the street a very over the top clown with mad eyes cackled at the job well done and aimed his balloon pump at another victim.

'Great,' Marinette huffed peeking from behind a chimney, as her partner drifted in the breeze, already good few meters up. 'Tikki, spots on,' she muttered to her purse.

'Thanks a lot. Now I have to fight that clown alone,' she complained.

'Who says you're alone?' future Ladybug shaded her eyes from the sun and took a closer look at the villain. 'Him? Please, I could take him down with one hand tied behind my back.'

'Really?' Maribug couldn't recall if her tone had ever been more acerbic. 'Then why did you interrupt me and Adrien?' She put her hands on her hips and glared at her older self.

'Because even if I can provide you with as many Lucky Charms as you want, sweetie,' Ladybug retorted and a red hat pin appeared in her hands as soon as she spoke "Lucky Charm", 'only you can Miraculous Ladybug the lot of them from the sky…' she pointed to the clouds at the flotilla of funnily shaped balloons growing by the second.

'Oh.'

'Buckle up, girl,' Ladybug spun her yoyo, and brandished the pin like a stiletto. 'I feel prickly as hell today.'

* * *

_Author's Note: Let me remind you, that this author likes to know, what her readers think about the story. Please leave a review. Thank you for all the support so far!_

_Tomorrow – "Dreams"! See you soon!_


	9. Dreams

**#9. Dreams**

Even in her wildest dreams had Marinette dared to expect such sync as the one she experienced that day partnered with her older self. Up until now she thought that the LadyNoir team synchronized pretty well, that they could work together seamlessly and communicate without words. But it had nothing on how two Ladybugs torn the Balloney akuma into shreds. Marinette almost felt sorry for him.

She briefly wondered if she'd ever reach a similar level of cooperation with Chat. It was like having four arms, four legs and two yoyos at her disposal. They just knew what the other one would be doing and how it all would fall into place. Infinite Lucky Charms also had come in handy.

But the battle had worn future Ladybug out. Tikki said it was because she couldn't detransform and recharge. Tikki's counterpart must have been exhausted and the only energy she was getting was by proxy. It took much more than one cookie for Ladybug to satisfy her afterakuma appetite and when she was finally full, she doze off once again leaving Marinette and Tikki to their own devices.

It was now way past eleven in the evening. Marinette decided she really should get more sleep with how hectic her life was gradually becoming, but she couldn't. She lay in the darkness trying to herd her thoughts. It was like herding cats. Once she seemed to get over one thing, another nagging question stuck its head out and waved at her.

Future Ladybug showing up. Marinette wanted to help her, more than anything. Somewhere deep inside she felt this was herself, be it from the future or from another dimension. But Tikki's distrust towards the girl baffled her. Her kwami seemed to be an open-hearted, warm creature, who always encouraged her to do good, to do the right thing. And now not only was she acting like a suspicious old biddy, but Ladybug seemed to be much more independent and self confident instead of treating Tikki like an oracle.

And some of the things Ladybug had told her… Well, Marinette would lie if she said they didn't hit home. Everyone else, including Tikki, teachers and classmates seemed to expect great acts of selflessness of her on a daily basis, just because she proved she cared about other people. How many times had she sacrificed her own good for the sake of another person? How many times had she let someone walk all over her and her feelings? How often had she bent over backwards to accommodate everyone but her, to _do the right thing_?

Did it help? Did she make a difference?

Being nice or supportive to Chloe hadn't changed much. She was still mean, scheming little minx, with no respect for others nor their feelings. No matter what Madame Bustier seemed to think. Yet when Ladybug let the brat clean her own mess - something that apparently no one, including her parents and teachers never told her do to - it seemed to drive the point home. But should it really be Marinette's responsibility to raise Chloe to be a good person?

There was also the matter of Lila. Marinette was slowly coming to conclusion there was something pathological about her lies. Exposing her was no small feat for a fourteen year old, especially since the girl was so manipulative. Those friendships Marinette'd made turned out fickle in the face of Lila's lies. It hurt. It hurt more than her lies that after what Marinette had done her friends would turn on her so easily. Or maybe she was naive in thinking people could be loyal at fourteen?

Maybe future Ladybug was right? Maybe Marinette should choose her battles more carefully? Maybe she should stop worrying about everyone and think about herself from time to time? Selflessness could be terribly exhausting, and if she was honest with herself, also awfully frustrating. It was difficult to find fulfillment when the bullies got what they wanted and never learned their lessons. Mirror Ladybug seemed to be past that - confident, strong, reasonable. Maybe Marinette should take her advice and care more about herself?

And of top of that there was also the question of Adrien almost discovering her identity. She never pegged him as observant, not when she was pretty obvious with her crush to no reaction on his part. Alya tended to use stronger words - "oblivious idiot" to mention just one. Yet despite the risk of being exposed as Ladybug, she felt extremely flattered. It required a lot of attention to notice something off about her reflection. Did it meant he finally started to _see_ her? And, oh irony, he almost immediately discovered more than she let on. How did he feel about this? How would he react when she denied? She had to find out.

These thoughts finally lulled her to a shallow, anxious sleep. She felt a reluctant dream finally approaching when the sound of weeping brought her back.

'Adrien! No! Please!' someone was crying next to her.

She sobered up in an instant.

'Not you! No!' another shriek pierced the silence. 'Don't trust him.'

It was Ladybug. Marinette was at her side in a second. The older girl was trashing and shaking violently. Adrien's name spilled from her lips between pleading sobs. Tears streaked her face.

Marinette shook her a few times, but there was no reaction. She took a glass of water and splashed it into Ladybug's face. The heroine woke up with a loud gasp.

'Adrien?' she whispered, her pupils dilated in fear.

* * *

_AN: Dun, dun, dun, duuuuuuun. So there might be some angst in this story… But I hope you'll read it anyway. Thank you for your support so far. Hopefully see you tomorrow. _


	10. Video Games

**#10. Video games**

It wasn't really a surprise that Ladybug turned out to be good at video games. After all she _was_ Marinette from future, or _a_ Marinette at least. Marinette's father was much older than them and still enjoyed a match or three, even if Marinette could already beat him at UMSIII.

She couldn't beat Ladybug. Even at 1am and with a home field advantage. That girl had more tricks up her tight sleeves than Marinette could have guessed. She played fair, but mercilessly used every advantage she had. She didn't let Marinette win, yet she let her _earn _her win. Because with an opponent like Ladybug Marinette was learning with a speed of light. She loved every second of it. She always loved a challenge.

She almost forgot why they were awake an hour past midnight and frantically smashing the buttons in an attempt to destroy the other player.

Marinette glimpsed at Ladybug. The heroine stuck out her tongue and narrowed her eyes, as her mecha danced over the arena kicking and punching. Marinette got the impression there was more to the violent fighting style, than pure competitiveness.

'Can we talk about it?' she asked, when they finished another round.

'There's nothing to talk about,' Ladybug shrugged. 'I had a nightmare, is all.'

'A nightmare about Adrien,' Marinette never gave up easily. 'What's so scary about Adrien? He's the kindest, sweetest and most gentle person I know.'

'No, he's not.'

Marinette frowned. 'Maybe you're from another dimension then.'

Ladybug finally turned to her. 'Marinette, _you_ are the kindest, sweetest and most gentle person I know. Adrien is…' she rubbed the bridge of her nose. 'He's friends with Chloé.'

'So? He isn't Chloé.'

'No, but he also puts up with her nasty behavior.'

'That's not true. The party-'

'The party she threw _after_ she got _everyone_ in school _but her_ punished for a prank _she_ had pulled? After which he commented with a bright smile that "she will never change"?'

'Yes, but-'

'How many times did he take your, or anyone else's side against Chloé?'

'I can't expect that. She's his childhood friend!'

'You're his friend too!' Ladybug barked out.

'What are you getting at here exactly?' Marinette huffed. 'You said earlier you don't trust Adrien. I'd never think like that about him.'

'And yet you haven't offered him a miraculous, have you?' the other girl countered. 'You're scared to share your feelings with him too.'

'That's not fair.'

'I'm… I'm sorry,' Ladybug shook her head.

'Why are you telling me this now?'

'You asked.'

'No. I mean, when you came through the mirror you saw Adrien's posters, you saw his pictures and you didn't say anything,' Marinette pointed out.

'I didn't remember much,' Ladybug replied sourly. 'And it was different with just the posters. That was before I saw him in person.'

'Do you… know something I don't know?' Marinette dreaded the thought, but there were times she doubted Adrien's good intentions.

'It's not a thing I know,' the heroine set her jaw. 'It's a thing I feel.'

'You mean like a gut feeling?'

'Yeah. Intuition, a hunch, whatever.'

'And it's telling you what exactly?'

'It's not telling me anything,' Ladybug rolled her eyes. 'It's difficult to explain.'

'Try me.'

The older girl sent her a searching look. 'Fine. Today when I saw you with him,' she said slowly, 'my heart clenched and I felt cold sweat under my suit. Like panic,' she muttered. 'Very much like panic.'

'Like… embarrassment panic?' Marinette supplied. Panic and embarrassment were things she often felt around Adrien. It wasn't really a reason to worry or bad-mouth the boy.

Ladybug shook her head. 'Definitely Hawkmoth related panic. I have no idea why. That nightmare - I don't remember it exactly. But it felt like Adrien had a connection to Hawkmoth.'

'No,' Marinette gasped. 'That's impossible.'

'You've already had your suspicions a while back, haven't you? Think about it though. Do you ever see him when there's an akuma battle?' Ladybug pointed out. 'No. He conveniently disappears.'

'No. That can't be right,' the younger girl tried to remember if this really was the case. 'I saved him from several villains. Gorizilla, Riposte, Simon Says, to name a few. And he was turned to a statue and a zombie,' she counted. 'Chameleon must have gotten him too.'

'So when you think of it,' Ladybug sent her a sad smile, 'he ends up very close to akuma really, really often. If I was Hawkmoth I'd be clever enough to make sure I have a solid alibi.'

Marinette scowled. 'If that's your argument, half of my school falls into that category.'

'Just saying,' the heroine raised her hands. 'Look, you don't have to believe me. Maybe I'm wrong and this was just a nightmare. Or I'm from another universe where things are different.'

'But?'

'But Adrien is not perfect. No one is. And the sooner you understand that, the safer you'll be.'

'I don't get it,' Marinette scrunched her nose.

'What I'm trying to say is - you have to trust what _your _gut feeling is telling you, okay? You don't have to trust me, or Tikki, or Adrien. You're the captain here. _Your_ life is at stake.'

The younger girl nodded in silence.

'So you stick to your gut feeling, and I'm gonna stick to mine,' Ladybug concluded. 'And I'll keep an eye on the sunshine child just in case.'

* * *

_Author's Note: Maybe it is obvious, maybe not yet, but one of my goals in this story is for Marinette to hear some truths about her life, no matter how difficult some of those truths might be. And it is Ladybug who delivers them._

_So please don't take this chapter as "Adrien trashing" - that is not my purpose here. But there are some things about Adrien's behavior that Marinette should acknowledge. It's in his character and that's perfectly okay - characters should have flaws they can overcome. One of Adrien's flaws is avoiding confrontation. I'm not saying it's always bad. But sometimes it is - for Marinette._

_Anyway, please tell me what you think. Every review, follow and fav is welcome!_  
_I was struggling with the next part of this story - actually this is the last chapter I have written. If you think I should continue, let me know._

_Next chapter should be "Guardian" and with some luck I'll try to write it tomorrow._


	11. Guardian

**#11. Guardian**

Marinette listened to her gut feeling and, maybe just _a little bit_ out of spite, she decided that Ladybug was in good enough shape to finally see Master Fu. She arranged the meeting after school. By stroke of luck she picked the snacks earlier and snuck out through the backdoor. She was almost sure she saw Lila loitering around the main entrance. The Italian girl was the last person she wanted to deal with at the moment.

To Marinette's surprise Ladybug was already waiting for her and Tikki in front of Fu's massage parlor. She hadn't been lying when she said she remembered its location. She completed her Lucky Charm disguise with big red sunglasses that effectively hid her mask, although the red fedora wasn't exactly a hat that diverted attention.

'Thank god, you're here,' she sighed when she spotted Marinette. 'People were giving me funny looks.'

'You don't say,' the girl murmured eyeing the classy trench that belonged rather in film noir than a sunny Parisian afternoon.

Marinette knocked on Master Fu's door and entered, Ladybug at the rear.

'Good afternoon, Master Fu,' she bowed. 'This is…'

'Hello, Ladybug,' the old man bent in a much deeper bow. Then he said something in Mandarin, or at least it sounded like Mandarin to Marinette's ears.

To her surprise Ladybug bowed as deep as Master Fu and greeted him in the same language.

'_This_ she remembers,' Tikki flew from Marinette's purse. 'Unbelievable,' she muttered.

'It's an honor to welcome the next guardian under our roof,' Wayzz ducked his head in front of the guest. 'The tea is ready,' he announced.

'N-n-next guardian?' Marinette stuttered.

'Still in training,' Ladybug murmured modestly. 'There's a lot I need to learn.'

'As we all do,' Master Fu said cryptically. 'Now please, take a seat. Let's have some tea.'

'Shouldn't I leave?' Marinette asked. 'If Ladybug is the next guardian maybe there are some things I shouldn't hear?'

'Please, stay with us, Marinette,' the old man invited her to a seat. 'My intention to train you as the next guardian, should you choose this path, has always been clear. You're showing great promise, and you've already proven yourself more than worthy.'

'When? I didn't do anything,' she objected.

'You were the one to decipher and obtain the last ingredient required for the potions to work,' Master Fu pointed out while he poured the tea into decorative cups. 'You've already learned about the powers of miraculous jewels and it is you who, when the need arises, chooses the miraculous and the wielder to help you.'

Marinette scrunched her nose. She had no idea those might have been tests or parts of her training. Hitherto she thought she just got lucky with the potions and as for the miraculous, the choice was hers because she knew the situation best. She never looked at it from Master Fu's point of view.

'You are closer to becoming a guardian than you think,' Tikki raised her head from her thimble full of tea.

'But it is your decision to make,' the old Chinese assured her. 'And you still have time to choose. Do not feel pressured. There are other candidates should you decline. And no one will think less of you, if you don't accept.'

He took a sip of his tea and turned to Ladybug. 'Now I need to hear what brings you here, my dear. Wouldn't it be more comfortable if you detransformed?'

'That's one of the reasons we're here,' Ladybug knitted her brows. 'I cannot release my transformation. Tikki, spots off,' she murmured.

The pinkish light appeared, just like the first time in Marinette's room. And like that time, there was no effect.

'I see,' Master Fu stroked his goatee. 'What about the Ladybug powers?'

'She can lucky charm things into existence,' Tikki piped in before the heroine could answer. 'Don't say it,' she warned.

'Say what?' their host asked perplexed.

'Lucky Charm,' Ladybug deadpanned. A red napkin dropped to her knees. She used it to dab at her lips innocently. 'And let me answer your next question right away. Miraculous Ladybug!' she tossed the napkin into the air.

Four sets of eyes followed its ascent. Only Master Fu chuckled when it got stuck into the ceiling lamp.

'That is indeed puzzling,' he noticed. 'Wayzz, would you be so kind?' He nodded in the direction of the napkin.

The green sprite retrieved the object and returned it to Ladybug, earning himself a nod of "thank you". The heroine rubbed him under his chin. He giggled until Tikki's hiss silenced him.

'This would also explain why you haven't returned to your time after completing your mission,' the Chinese man mused.

'Even if she knew what her mission was,' Tikki drawled setting Ladybug with a stone glare, 'she probably doesn't remember the time she belongs to.'

Master Fu seemed to finally pick up on Tikki's attitude. He took a closer look at the heroine. 'Is that true?'

'That I lost some of my memories?' Ladybug straightened up under the guardian's eye. 'Yes, it's true.'

'And the cause?'

'Unknown,' Tikki and Ladybug said in unison.

'Any side effects apart from that?'

Ladybug shook her head. Tikki raised a brow. Marinette thought about a particular Lucky Charm hidden under the chaise.

'_Red bucket!_' the girl coughed.

'I mean I was sick the other day,' Ladybug finally admitted.

'The other day?' The red kwami huffed. 'You've been having stomach aches and more every morning since you arrived.'

'I see,' the guardian murmured. 'I would like to check a few things if you don't mind.'

'Of course,' Ladybug bowed with a hand on her chest. 'Anything you deem important.'

'For the things I have in mind, I need to prepare,' Master Fu rose to his feet. 'You two stay here. Wayzz, Tikki, I could use your help,' he nodded in the direction of his workroom.

The last thing Marinette heard before the door closed behind them, was a quiet question. 'Now Tikki, what do you have to say?'

* * *

_Author's Note: Thank you all for your support for this story. It means the world to me, that you like it and find it interesting. I encourage you to review, share your thoughts, suspicions and hypotheses. I'm always curious what my readers take from the story, and they also inspire me a lot! _

_As of this chapter I am writing this day to day, so hopefully I can keep with the Marinette March schedule. _

_Next chapter – Phone thief – should go up tomorrow. Unless I die after seeing Oblivio… _


	12. Phone thief

**#12. Phone thief**

Ladybug didn't seem bothered by the fact that Master Fu apparently decided to talk to the kwamis without their presence. Marinette found it a little bit rude though.

'Don't worry. They aren't talking about you, sweetie,' the heroine said as if reading her mind. 'Tikki now can finally say all the bad stuff she's been bottling up since I showed up.'

'She does not!' Marinette protested. 'She doesn't act like that!'

'Sure, she does. Haven't you noticed? All the stink eyes I've been getting. Plagg would love it.'

'You and Plagg are close then?' Marinette wanted to ask earlier. The brief meeting with Chat Noir's kwami left her curious and Tikki's comment only spurred her curiosity further.

'We get along just fine,' future Ladybug said evasively.

'So… you know who Chat Noir is?'

There's a deep sigh. 'Not at the moment, no.'

'Oh.'

This seemed to exhaust Ladybug's inclination to talk, as she didn't elaborate further. She plopped herself on the mat and closed her eyes. From what Marinette gathered, she was tired most of the time. It probably had to do with the transformation thing. Maybe Master Fu would provide them with some answers.

The girl took out her phone to kill some time. First she checked for messages from Penny. Jagged and his assistant were supposed to review her designs for the upcoming concert. Marinette was expecting their instructions on final adjustments any day now, seeing how the event was only four days away. But maybe they just chose someone else. It would be weird though, Penny texted her earlier that they loved the clothes and had only some minor suggestions. Marinette made a mental note to text Mlle Rolling later.

She raised her eyes from her device only to notice that Ladybug was also busying herself with a smartphone. Yet as far as Marinette knew she hadn't brought anything with her when she crossed the mirror.

'You lucky-charmed a phone?' She asked glimpsing at the item.

'No,' Ladybug flicked the screen blockade to shut the device, but Marinette managed to see the picture - a very familiar blond model and his best friend posing for a selfie.

'Hey, that's Adrien's!' She exclaimed. 'How did you get that?!'

'Same way as you, I imagine,' Ladybug smirked. She lit the screen again and tried different patterns for the lock. Now that Marinette saw the device, she stopped hiding with what she was doing.

'You need to give it back! Now!' the girl demanded trying to take over the phone.

'Relax, sweetie. Sunshine child doesn't need it now. He's at one of those photoshoots at our park.' She rolled to the side to keep out of Marinette's range. 'God only knows why they need so many pictures of the same outfit on the same model in the same park.'

'Why did you even take it?'

'Like I said, I don't trust him,' Ladybug tried pattern after pattern. 'I wanted to check what is he up to.'

'You won't find Hawkmoth's number in there, you know,' Marinette huffed.

The device lit up after Ladybug drew the shape of a handwritten "L".

'Interesting choice,' she hummed.

To Marinette's irritation she went straight for connections and text messages, but unsurprisingly there were no indications of Adrien's engagement in magical terrorism activity, nor his familiarity with any villains whatsoever, that is if one didn't count Chloe. There was however a disturbing number of emails in his inbox from someone named Wayhem.

Disappointed with Adrien's correspondence Ladybug started browsing through his saved files. Marinette gave up on taking the phone away from her. She was now trying to peek but without being obvious. Ladybug wasn't exactly hiding the screen, but she didn't offer better access for the girl either.

There was nothing of interest for the older girl in the photos folder. A few pictures of Adrien's mom, and a lot more of his friends from school. The heroine stiffened, when she discovered a "HM" folder, which as far as Marinette could see, contained the only existing video footage of Hawkmoth himself - the creepy giant butterfly head from the first akuma battle and Scarlet Moth from Prime Queen's broadcast during the Heroes' Day.

'Hmmm,' Ladybug murmured and continued to scroll through folders.

Marinette wiggled anxiously. Why would Adrien have those saved to his phone?

The older girl sat up, when she found another folder full of videos. This one was tagged "LB" and contained more footage, this time of the heroes, mostly Ladybug. These were from battles and interviews.

Even Marinette had to admit that this looked suspicious. Was Ladybug right in her surmise? Was Adrien collecting footage for Hawkmoth, or maybe tracking down his opponents?

At that moment Ladybug stifled a giggle. Then she chuckled out loud. Marinette lost track of what the heroine had been browsing and now she couldn't see the screen at all. Ladybug's shoulders slowly started to shake until a very unladylike snort escaped her. As far as Marinette could determine she was opening folder after folder and what she found must have been extremely amusing.

Marinette felt she was going to explode. 'What's so funny?' she asked, trying to keep her voice casual.

Ladybug turned to give her access to the screen. There were tears in her eyes and she did her best not to laugh out loud. She scrolled and opened files at random. And with each file Ladybug's smirk grew wider while Marinette's eyes grew larger.

Fanart. Tons of it. Of Ladybug, sometimes in Chat Noir's company. A considerable amount of LadyNoir drawings, edits and comics. Fanfiction _saved_ to the phone memory.

The heroine stopped at a particularly cheesy portrait of Ladybug surrounded by roses and little bugs. It had an "inspirational poem" added on the side.

"_Ladybugs are red_

_Violets are blue_

_My heart belongs_

_Only to you"_

'Awwwww,' she cooed, while Marinette stared dumbfounded at the phone screen. 'He's a fan!'

* * *

_Author's Note: So I'm wondering now how many of you will actually read fanfiction instead of getting excited/salty over the new episode? I hope at least some people will check this update :D_

_As always I ask you to leave a review. Your opinions mean the world to me and motivate me to write more. _

_Tomorrow another interesting prompt – Akumanette. See you soon!_


	13. Akumanette

**#13. Akumanette**

Marinette eyed the tray Master Fu brought back from the kitchen. Candles, bowls, herbs, powders. Wayzz and Tikki, both wearing similarly concerned expressions, carried a box of matches after the guardian.

'I am ready, Ladybug,' the host announced.

Marinette and her older self stood up.

'I don't know if you're familiar with this technique,' Master Fu turned to the heroine, 'but apart from the standard aura reading I want to perform the ritual of lights.'

Ladybug frowned. 'But isn't that for kwami?'

'Yes,' Master Fu nodded, clearly pleased with her answer. 'But only because it concerns miraculous energy. It's usually redundant for humans...'

'But I am transformed,' she finished. 'Hence I am not exactly human right now. Or not all of me anyway. That makes sense.'

'The ritual is also helpful for examining the distribution of miraculous energy,' the guardian continued. 'It might help us determine if there's any damage or weak points.'

'What do I do?' Ladybug looked around. 'Do I stand or do you need me to lie down?'

'I would like to put you into trance, if you don't mind,' Master Fu explained. 'It's not strictly necessary, but it would help to reduce the bias that comes from your consciousness.'

The heroine looked to Tikki, but the kwami avoided her gaze.

'If this might help you, okay,' Ladybug shrugged.

Marinette found it astonishing how calm the heroine was in this all. Maybe it had something to do with her training as Master Fu's successor. But she must have had utmost trust in this man to allow this. And for the first time Marinette thought that maybe she just wanted answers. That maybe deep down Ladybug was as scared and lost as Marinette would feel, but she never allowed herself to be weak. That considering the circumstances, she had to keep her cool. And that's when she noticed the heroine trembled when she lowered herself to the mat.

Ladybug lay on her back and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed as Master Fu counted to ten. Her features relaxed and tension dropped from her body. After a moment the guardian checked her pulse.

'We may begin,' he said. 'Normally I would start with aura readings, but I believe the ritual is more important right now.'

Tikki and Wayzz nodded and passed him the matches. Master Fu lit the small candles and carefully placed them around the limp form of Ladybug. Then he reached for an antique incesory. Soon the smell of herbs filled Marinette's nostrils. She didn't recognize it, but found the scent to have a calming effect.

The guardian took the last candle from the tray. It was cast in a glass holder that seemed to enhance the light. The man recited an incantation and the flame grew stronger.

'The ritual of light shows both the kind and the strength of magic contained in a creature,' he explained.

'We'll see if she really is Ladybug as she claims to be,' Tikki supplied. She was watching the lying girl like a hawk.

'You mean she might not be-?' Marinette couldn't believe it. Tikki really had suspected something and hadn't shared her concerns with her chosen, but waited for Master Fu. Ladybug had been right once again.

'Magic works in many ways,' Master Fu replied diplomatically. 'Things aren't always as they seem. But if she isn't who we think she is, we'll know.'

With that he moved the candle holder over Ladybug's head. The flame turned red.

'W-what does it mean?' Marinette asked.

Tikki and Wayzz sighed in relief.

'It means that she is under the influence of Ladybug miraculous,' the guardian explained.

'This really is future Marinette transformed by Tikki into Ladybug,' Wayzz translated.

'So everything is fine?'

'Not necessarily,' Wayzz said. 'Master Fu needs to check for any anomalies. That might give us some answers as to why she can't release her transformation or why is her memory impaired.'

The guardian moved the candle closer to the earrings. The redness of the flame grew stronger. He looked to Marinette to see if she understood the principle. When she nodded he moved to Ladybug's neck and arms. The flame cast red shadows on the walls. Marinette watched the route of the candle with fascination until Master Fu placed it over Ladybug's chest.

The flame burst with purple light.

Tikki gasped and covered her mouth with her paw.

'B-but that's… she's not wearing the brooch,' Wayzz stuttered.

Master Fu took a deep breath. 'No,' he said.

'Then…'

The guardian took a pinch of powder from the tray and blew it directly over the light. A shape of a butterfly flickered for a moment between flames and then evaporated.

'She has been akumatized,' Master Fu whispered.

'But then where's the akuma?' Marinette leaned in searching for the akumatized object on Ladybug's body.

'Where the light is the strongest,' came a reply.

The girl watched in horror as Master Fu moved the candle closer to the heroines chest and placed it directly over her heart. The purple light flooded the room blinding the four of them.

Afterglow still lingered under Marinette's eyelids when the guardian blew off the candle. She felt his hand on her shoulder.

'Call Chat Noir, Marinette,' he said sadly. 'We might need him.'

* * *

_Author's Note: Thank you all for reading this story. I hope you still find it interesting. I encourage you to review and share your opinion. _

_Next on TGitM: "Restore". Hopefully see you tomorrow!_


	14. Restore

**#14. Restore**

Marinette's head was still reeling with the revelations of the last half an hour. Even more so, since she had to transform before Chat would get to Master Fu's, so Tikki threw at her about two hours worth of lecture on Ladybug Miraculous in about 10 minutes time.

Now Master Fu was bringing her partner up to speed so that they could start actually solving problems instead of discussing them.

Future Ladybug still lay on the mat, surrounded by now extinguished candles. She looked as if she was sleeping. Her chest rose and fell with every calm breath. Maribug couldn't stop herself from casting glances at it and gnawing at her lower lip. There was an akuma hiding somewhere under the suit, in Ladybug's heart if Master Fu's ritual was anything to go by.

She didn't notice when Chat joined her.

'So you want me to cataclysm the earrings?' he asked.

'No!' Maribug exclaimed.

'That would just destroy the miraculous,' Master Fu replied patiently. 'The akuma is not in the earrings.'

'Then maybe just take them off,' the feline hero suggested. 'It would be easier to find the object without the supersuit in the way.' He shuddered. 'Or to fight her without her superpowers if she wakes up.'

'First, that would reveal her identity and I would rather avoid that,' the guardian countered. 'Besides there's more to Ladybug miraculous than meets the eye.'

'And that is?' Chat raised a brown.

'Tikki, my kwami,' Maribug whispered.

'According to the ritual of lights Ladybug is still in control. Her mind is under the influence of her miraculous. My guess is this is some form of protection from Tikki. She is guarding her holder from being affected by the Butterfly miraculous magic.'

'Good. That's good,' the hero nodded. 'Then why are we worried?'

'Because we don't know how long Tikki can hold it off,' the girl explained recalling her kwami's lecture.

_Whatever happened, it must have been epically wrong to akumatize and adult, experienced Ladybug, a guardian! _Tikki had said. _You are only fourteen and you already resisted twice. You know how to go back from the mindset required for akumatization_.

Maribug dwelled on her words. She'd rather avoid sharing this particular detail with her partner. She didn't want Chat to get the wrong idea. It was bad enough he realized the other girl was her future self.

'Don't worry,' he murmured squeezing her shoulder. 'We'll figure this out.'

They tried. They tried everything Master Fu could think of, everything Wayzz could come up with. In an act of desperation they even detransformed in separate rooms and let their kwamis discuss the matter. Tikki's and Plagg's ideas failed as well.

Chat tried luring the akuma out by offering other objects and once even by threatening to use cataclysm. Master Fu used meditation and potions, he browsed through old dusty scrolls and grimoires but to no avail. After a heated discussion Plagg even volunteered to phase through Ladybug's body in an attempt to retrieve the akuma. Without success.

Maribug cast Lucky Charms and Miraculous-Ladybugged away them countless number of times. Every time the swarm of ladybugs would carefully steer clear of future Ladybug's limp form. It had never worked when the akuma was still inside and it wasn't about to start now.

Eventually they ran out of cookies for Tikki.

'I need to wake her up,' Master Fu said. 'There's nothing more we can do now.'

'Will you-' Maribug hated that her voice faltered mid sentence.

'Tell her? Yes,' the guardian replied. 'She needs to know. If she's aware, she may be able to stay on top of it.'

'Never seen a victim who could,' Chat pointed out.

'This is different. Even if Hawkmoth of this time could hypothetically communicate with her through an akuma from the future, the Ladybug miraculous is preventing any connections,' Master Fu said. 'As long as Ladybug is in control, she's safe. As are we.'

'And when she's not?'

'She's clearly wielding the power of creation and time travel. But without knowing the reason for her akumatization I can't even speculate on what she'd be capable of.'

Chat Noir squeezed Maribug's hand. She sent him a sad smile.

'Can you do anything about the side effects?' she asked.

'I will try to relieve her of any pain or discomfort, if that's what you're asking,' the guardian assured her. 'I'll to this before I wake her up.'

'Will you be needing our assistance?'

'It won't be necessary.'

'Then we'll be on the roof,' Chat said pulling Ladybug outside. 'You look like you could use a friend right now,' he murmured leading her to the staircase. 'Let's talk, my Lady.'

* * *

_Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Leave a review if you can. I appreciate all your support for this story! _

_Next time on TGitM: some Ladynoir talks. Hopefully I will post it tomorrow, if this cold or infection or whatever it is I've caught, will allow it._


	15. Support

**#15. Support**

Maribug scanned the horizon, more out of habit than necessity. A plate appeared in her vision, so close she had to squint. It was _pain au chocolat_, one of the pastries she had brought to Master Fu that afternoon.

'Eat something,' Chat said. 'Your kwami wasn't the only one working today.'

She took a bite and chewed it slowly.

'Tea?' the boy passed her a mug. 'It's cold, but at least it's wet.'

'Thanks,' she murmured.

He smiled tenderly and nodded. 'I need to take care of my Lady.'

Maribug couldn't help but to return the smile. She took another bite and returned to watching the distant rooftops. So many things happened in the span of one afternoon. She was shaken to her core, not sure if she ever manages to process it all. And, as it was often the case, Chat Noir noticed pretty quickly. He had that sixth sense when it came to her, though it seemed to be deafened when he was angry or hurt, too deep in his own emotions to pick up on hers.

'What's wrong, Buggaboo?'

'Where do I even start?' She shook her head. 'I did my best and it wasn't enough. I hate being helpless.'

'You shouldn't be so hard on yourself.'

'So I've heard…' she muttered darkly.

'So…' Chat stretched his legs and leaned back on his elbows. He turned his face to the late afternoon sun. 'How does it feel to meet your future self?'

'Weird.'

'Good weird?'

'Just weird,' Maribug sighed. 'She's a rather pleasant company if she's not busy trolling Tikki. But she doesn't remember many things and even if she did she wouldn't tell me.'

'She's an akuma. Maybe it's better she doesn't remember.'

Chat had a point. Maybe there were worse things than memory loss that could happen to a miraculous wielder. Those nightmares… and Adrien featuring in them. She felt shivers crawling up her spine.

'So you say she's nice? That's not really a surprise, since she's… well… you,' the boy continued.

'She seems so different. Sometimes it's hard to believe I could be like her.'

Marinette had felt from the beginning that Mirror Ladybug was her future self, and she was impressed with the heroine's character traits. But it was one thing to admire an adult, and quite another to imagine, why are they who they are. What path led them there. Especially since they seemed to try and point you in a direction other than you thought you should go.

'The things she says. They make me… think,' she ended lamely.

'About what?'

Maribug shrugged. 'My life choices? Decisions I've made. She's trying to convince me that I should care less about other people and more about myself. That is - in my civilian life. Apparently I am letting people walk all over me, expect more of myself and less of others. I mean I'm already giving so much as Ladybug, but the expectations are high even when I'm not wearing the mask. To set an example, to forgive and forget even when someone is mean to me, even when they do not stop. Sometimes it seems that my feelings don't matter, that I should push them aside.'

Chat crossed his legs and gave her a thoughtful stare. 'That doesn't seem fair to you. Maybe she's right?'

'I just don't know anymore…' she released a long sigh. 'The person who's making the most sense turns out to be an akuma! Me - akumatized!' she exclaimed over the rooftops. 'When I was supposed to protect people! How could I screw this up?'

'If you screwed up then I must have screwed up first.' Chat muttered sourly, his fists clenched. 'I would never let you be akumatized if I had a saying in this. Something very wrong must have happened in her future,' he put a hand over her shoulder. 'Maybe you should listen to her? Maybe even if she doesn't remember, she _knows_ better? Maybe that's what she's supposed to fix or at least that's what future Tikki is making her do? To make you immune, to prevent your akumatization? I mean you heard Master Fu - Ladybug is still in control. Your future self has not given in.'

'Maybe. I'll have to think about it though.'

'I wonder what she wanted from Marinette the other day.'

'What?'

Why would Chat bring that up now? He saw them for maybe two seconds before he got hit. The boy was fiddling with his tail, wrapping it around his clawed finger and then unrolling it again.

'I saw them together,' he explained. 'She took Marinette from school when Ballooney attacked.'

'She did?' Maribug decided she shouldn't let him know she knew anything of that incident. 'Maybe she needed her help?'

'Maybe. But I would guess she'd go straight to you - as her past self. That would be my first call at least,' he mused. 'I mean, Marinette is pretty awesome from what I've heard, but she's just a teen. How can she help?'

Oh, you poor oblivious Kitty, Maribug thought. Miraculous magic must be more powerful than she thought if Chat really couldn't connect the dots. No one could be so naive.

'Maybe she knows how to contact me?' she shrugged.

'She does?' The boy was authentically surprised.

Maribug decided to play it off as a joke. 'What? You know better who's friends with me?'

'I've heard some rumors…' he wiggled his brows.

'I swear if this is about that Italian chick-'

'You mean she's not your friend?'

'Chat, tell me you're joking,' Maribug huffed. 'You of all people should know that I would never risk my identity nor the safety of a civilian by "being friends" with anyone as Ladybug. That's a guaranteed invitation for Hawkmoth.'

'So…' he bumped into her shoulder, 'you're not friends with Marinette?'

'You were talking about Marinette?'

'Does it matter?' He teased. 'You still can't say anything.'

They sat in silence for a long moment. Maribug chewed on her pastry. Chat sipped the cold tea. They rarely got moments like that. There was always so much to do and so little time. She realized she could use more of that. She enjoyed Chat's company. He knew how to be quiet without the urge to fill the silence with words.

'You were right. I needed this,' she moved closer to her partner and put her head on his shoulder. She noticed he was chewing on the inside of his cheek, a sure sign he was deep in thought. 'Something on your mind, Chaton?'

'That thing you said about people walking all over you and expecting you to be selfless and do things for them just because?' He scrunched his nose. 'I have this friend in my civilian life. And you've just made me realize that she might go through similar things as you. She's a lot like you actually.'

'Kick-ass?

Chat smirked. 'You have no idea, bug. I once even told her she's our everyday Ladybug.'

Suddenly it seemed they were much higher than Maribug was comfortable with. She was sure her heart had just climbed to her throat.

'Y-you did?' She stuttered. 'And what did she say to that?'

Chat's lips stretched into a dopey smile. 'She kissed me,' he confessed.

If Maribug's eyes could be wider they would probably pop out of her head. She hardly remembered how to breathe.

Her partner must have noticed and misinterpreted her reaction entirely. 'O-o-on the cheek! She kissed me on the cheek!' He exclaimed.

'Ah, don't worry, Kitten!' A voice called from behind them. 'Keep this up, and one day she'll kiss you on the lips! Whoever she is!'

Maribug swallowed hard and turned around. Future Ladybug stood by the chimney, still not looking akumatized even a little bit.

'Do I have a stain somewhere?' She inspected her suit when they kept staring at her. 'I swear the wax from those candles gets _everywhere_.'

* * *

_Author's Note: And we've officially reached half of this story. It should go downhill from here, but it probably won't. Please let me know, how you like it. Thank you for your support for this story._

_Next time on TGitM: Triumph. See you soon!_


	16. Triumph

_Warning: this chapter contains a discussion about cataclysming a person. If you're not up to read such a thing, you can skip it. I put markers to indicate where this fragment begins and where it ends._

* * *

**#16. Triumph**

If anyone would ask Marinette at that moment how she felt, she'd have no idea how to reply. She was relieved Ladybug appeared to serve as distraction, because she wasn't sure she could just keep a straight face knowing who had been hiding behind the black mask for so long. And if it wasn't for Adrien's phone in Ladybug's hand maybe she'd even dismiss Chat's words as coincidence.

After all Adrien wouldn't have been the only person who would compare his friend to the heroine of Paris, right? Nor would he be the only one earning himself a cheek-kiss for it. But it would be too much of a coincidence for him to also have so many cheesy fanart about Ladybug saved to his phone, when Chat Noir claimed to be in love with his partner.

All the little puzzles started jumping into the right places. Adrien ended up very close to akuma really, really often, because they were his responsibility, just like Marinette's. Chat took awfully long to show up during Gorizilla's attack because he was captured by the akuma. He never made it for Style Queen because he'd been glitterized.

Click, click, click, the puzzles went taking Chat's secret with them.

Mirror Ladybug pushed herself from the chimney she'd been leaning on and strolled to them. She crouched and put her arms on their shoulders.

'That's a nice view you have here,' she said conversationally.

Maribug blinked. She realized she wasn't prepared for her company yet. She had no idea how to react, but now that she knew Ladybug had been akumatized, uneasiness settled over her rather easily. Especially since the heroine was acting so… casual.

'Has Master Fu-' Maribug started.

'Told me I'm an akuma? Yes,' Ladybug confirmed. 'Shame I don't remember my akuma name. I bet it would be something ridiculous, like… Dark Yoyo, Despair Bug or Buginator.

'Missfortune has a nice ring to it,' Chat Noir offered.

'Yeah, that's actually a good one.' the heroine grinned. 'Hello to you by the way. It's nice to see you when you're not blowing up.'

'The pleasure is all mine,' the boy ducked his head. He couldn't bow or do anything else because of her elbow resting on his shoulder. 'It's nice not to blow up.'

Maribug now had a moment to calm down. She took a closer look at Ladybug. Those few days and the knowledge of what she might have been going through were enough to pick up on her state.

'How do you feel?' she asked, noticing the tired eyes and stiffness hiding under the seemingly relaxed posture.

'As an akuma you mean?' Ladybug made a face. 'Pretty good. I admit this isn't ideal. But it could have been worse.'

'How?' Chat blurted out.

Ladybug sent him an amused smile. 'I could have been Hawkmoth,' she quipped. 'Or I might have thought _you_ were Hawkmoth and come down on you like a ton of bricks.

'Yeah, that's worse,' he solemnly agreed.

'I'm sorry we couldn't do anything about the akuma,' Maribug murmured.

The heroine sent her a long searching look. 'Don't worry about it,' she finally said. 'Maybe it wasn't a day of triumph, but I wouldn't consider it a failure either.'

.

_**[-skip]**_

'How come?'

'I mean, yes, there's still an akuma somewhere in here,' she thumped her chest with her fist, 'but at least now we know about it. And luckily I landed in a time where there's a Chat Noir who can cataclysm it should the need arise _and_ a second Ladybug who can undo the damage and restore the balance.'

Maribug and Chat looked to her with utter horror. Chat was the first to gather his voice.

'Are you suggesting I should-' he gestured to her chest, absolutely horrified.

'Not now, no.' Ladybug assured him with the same laid back attitude she adopted earlier. 'But I need you to promise me you'll do this the moment I go rogue,' she added, her voice dropping down just for a moment. 'I'm serious. You have to act the moment I lose control. Do not hesitate. Do not give me the benefit of the doubt. Treat this as an order and as my consent.'

'Your consent to kill you?'

'To destroy the akuma,' Ladybug said. 'If I'm as lucky as I've always believed, you can save _me_ later. The miraculous should be fine, too.'

'Should be?'

'There's always a risk. Vigilantism is a risky business after all,' she shrugged.

Maribug felt tears coming. She did everything she could to hold it together. Chat didn't look better himself.

'Listen now, kids,' Ladybug narrowed her eyes. 'No matter what Fu says, no matter how noble your reasons, I am telling you to do this, okay? Hell, I demand you do this. Whatever is in here, whatever Tikki is keeping at bay, it might not give you a second chance. Do you understand?'

No reply.

'I said, do you understand?' Ladybug growled under her breath.

Now there was a duo of two weak and broken "yes"s.

'Good to know we have an agreement,' the heroine nodded, reverting back to the cheerful mood.

Only now Marinette understood it was just another mask. A mask that she finally saw through.

_**[-return]**_

.

Ladybug swayed slightly. Both young heroes caught her arms before she could lose her balance.

'I think you need to rest,' Maribug said. 'We should go.'

They helped the older girl to stand up.

'Well, I guess I'll see you around,' Chat quipped shooting them a two finger salute. It sounded as false as the smile he plastered onto his face.

'Hey, Kitten, wait up!' Ladybug called after him. 'Could you return this for me?'

She tossed Adrien's phone in his direction and Chat caught it skillfully. The screen lit up upon contact with the boy's glove displaying Adrien and Nino smiling for a selfie.

Maribug didn't know what to do with her eyes. She was sure her face was as red as her suit out of second hand embarrassment.

'Hey, is that my-' Chat blinked. 'I mean, whose phone is this?'

'You'll find the owner in Place des Vosges,' the heroine supplied. 'it's on your way anyway and I have places to be.'

Chat's brow furrowed as he tried to understand. 'B-but why did you even take it?'

Marinette thought that was a very careful wording for an action that had a rather simple name. Theft. And since this was _his_ phone, he must have been aware of that.

'Don't you worry your pretty head over it, Kitten. It was simply for superhero inquiries,' came a reply.

'You do that kind of thing often?' he asked weakly.

Ladybug sent him a sweet smile. 'Only when I'm out of minutes,' she chirped. 'Now off you go,' she shooed at him. Then she turned around and headed for the other side of the roof.

Chat looked to the phone, then to Maribug. He leaned in to whisper into her ear. 'Ah, so she's a pickpocket in her free time? I can see why you're worried, Bugaboo.'

* * *

_Author's Note: Thank you for reading and for all the support you give to this story. I'm happy to tell you my beta is back from her vacation, so hopefully future chapters will contain less typos and inconsistencies. Thank you Remasa!_

_Next on TGitM: Failure._


	17. Failure

**#17. Failure**

By the time Marinette made it home she was beyond exhausted. And the internal mantra of „Adrien-is-Chat" still echoed in her head.

'Why did you make Chat return the phone you took?' She attacked Ladybug as soon as the skylight closed behind them.

'Relax, I just wanted to make sure he wouldn't follow us,' the older girl rolled her eyes. The mask of the laid-back heroine was back on. 'It's not a big favor. He'll find Adrien in no time.'

No time indeed, Marinette thought. She sent Ladybug a searching look. Just this afternoon the heroine claimed she didn't know Chat's identity. It was just a coincidental choice of words, right? One that maybe even would have been amusing had she had any power left to laugh. Alas she only had enough to get Tikki some cookies and crash onto her bed. She fell asleep almost immediately.

Early morning found her as tired and stressed as last evening but she forced herself to get up and shower, before she needed to head to school. The helplessness of yesterday had been in part replaced with frustration. She quickly summed up her status:

One akumatized Ladybug. Check.

One incompetent heroine who couldn't deakumatize her. Check.

One partner who turned out to be classmate - slash - crush. Check.

One Jagged Stone concert she was supposed to provide costumes to. Check.

Designs returned for adjustment. None.

Messages from Penny. None as well.

Oh, and she should show up at school in 20 minutes.

There were so many things on her plate right now she wanted to scream. And she would, but she didn't want to wake Ladybug. Tikki took her place in Marinette's purse and the two of them left the attic in search for breakfast.

Marinette's dad was in the kitchen, putting groceries away.

'Hey, cupcake!' He gave her a peck on the forehead. 'Did you sleep well?'

'Yeah, Dad,' she chirped. There was no need to make him worry. There was nothing he could do about her problems anyway.

'Oh, a friend of yours asked for you yesterday,' he scratched his chin. 'I think her name was Lila.'

'Lila?' Marinette had seen her the day before. But what would she want from her?

'Isn't she in your class?' Her dad frowned. 'She said it was nothing important and that she'd talk to you at school.'

'Yeah, she's in my class,' Marinette carefully kept her voice neutral.

'She seems like a nice girl, doesn't she? She bought some bread rolls and said they were the best she ever had. And apparently she travels a lot, so that's a huge compliment.'

Marinette chose to evade. The last thing she needed right now was a discussion on how Lila wasn't the traveler she claimed to be. 'You own one of the best bakeries in Paris, Daddy,' she climbed to her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek. 'Is this a surprise when you get praise for your merchandise?'

'I guess it's not,' Tom curled his mustache. 'It's good to know your friends appreciate it, though. Have a nice day, cupcake!' He added slipping a warm package that smelled of butter into her backpack.

'You to, Daddy!' she called from the door.

She decided to leave via bakery and say goodbye to her mom as well. She had returned so late yesterday, that she couldn't ask Sabine if there were any messengers from Jagged.

'No, honey,' her mom shook her head. 'There was someone asking for you yesterday, when you were out, but they disappeared before I could talk to them. You know how it is with the rush hours.' She stroke Marinette's hair. 'But if that was a messenger surely they would wait. That's their job after all.'

'Well, if anyone comes today, please accept the package,' the girl asked. 'I'll text Penny to tell her they can send it anytime.'

'Sure, honey,' Sabine waved her goodbye.

As soon as the door closed behind her Marinette felt the weight of her troubles on her shoulders again. Her parents' presence always had a soothing effect on her, but now there was nothing distracting her. She added Lila's visit to the list of things she should be concerned about. One quick message to Penny later and she was already entering school.

'Have you seen Lila?' she asked Alya in the locker room. Her friend usually knew these things. She often interviewed the girl either for school blog or her Ladyblog, as Lila seemed to get involved with akumas more often lately. 'She asked about me at the bakery yesterday.'

'Girl, what are you talking about?' Alya looked at her as if she grew a second head. 'Lila left for Achu two days ago. She just tweeted she'll be back for Jagged's concert,' the Ladyblogger waved her phone in front of Marinette's eyes. Lila smiled back at her from the screen, some foreign landscape in the background.

'Like she has tickets,' Marinette snorted. She recalled Lila lamenting over it few weeks ago. The tickets had sold out in 5 minutes and the Italian girl almost broke her phone in half because it had disconnected mid transaction.

Alya shrugged as they left the locker room and headed for class. 'With her connections she can get anything. I mean she probably just asked Jagged. I imagine he'd do anything for her after she saved that kitten.'

All around them students were showing each other Lila's tweet and enthused over the storied she would bring from the concert. Even those who hitherto had shown no interest in Jagged nor his music, like Max or Kim, seemed to be excited because of it.

'You think Lila could be convinced to stream that concert? Or at least a fragment?' Alya mused. 'It would be awesome to have it on school blog!'

Marinette decided to restrain from comment. She had tried to get Alya to see the truth too many times. There was always a good reason why Lila's promise couldn't be fulfilled yet or why she said one thing and then something exactly opposite happened. Marinette was fed up with constantly being accused of attacking Lila out of jealousy.

'Probably,' she agreed instead.

Her phone chirped with a notification of a new text message.

[Penny R:] "Marinette. The messenger took the clothes to the bakery yesterday together with the two backstage passes you asked for. He said you picked the package yourself. We're waiting for the final product."

She squinted at her phone. Her blood ran cold. Yesterday? No package came yesterday. She wasn't there yesterday. There must have been a misunderstanding. Maybe her dad had signed for the package and forgot to tell her? Maybe...

'Marinette. Dupain. Cheng,' a shrill cut through her panic. 'My mom said to give you this.'

Chloé dangled a white envelope in front of Marinette's face. She was holding it in two fingers as if it was the most disgusting thing on earth. Marinette noticed Audrey Bourgeois's logo printed in the corner and her own name written in cursive on the back.

'Since when you deliver mail, Chloé?' Alya chuckled.

The blonde only rolled her eyes dropping the item into Marinette's hands. 'Since my mother decided a baker's daughter isn't worth wasting stamps on her.'

Marinette ripped the envelope and unrolled the letter.

'I'll save you trouble reading, Dupain-Cheng,' Chloé drawled jabbing her with a manicured finger. 'It says your entry has been disqualified from the Paris Fashion Contest.'

* * *

_Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews, favs and follows. I'm glad you like this story. _

_A huge thank you goes to Remasa for all her valuable advice on this chapter. Check out her newest story "A Host Unto His Own"! It's another part of a great series of Unconventional Scenarios Series that I highly recommend!_

_Next on TGitM: Fears. Stay tuned!_


	18. Fears

**#18. Fears**

'Disqualified?' Marinette echoed. Alya took the letter from her hands and started scanning through it.

'Dis-qua-li-fied.' Chloé repeated triumphantly. 'Someone pointed to one of the judges that you are not a debutant, since you've already submitted your creations to other contests, and you have experience in designing in other fields. Like _accessories_ and _CD covers_,' she added. 'It wouldn't be fair to other contestants to compete against you.'

Alya passed the letter back to Marinette. She nodded confirming Chloé's words. 'I'm sorry,' she said.

Marinette felt the anger simmering in her blood. 'You- ' she growled.

'Now, now, girls!' Miss Bustier called from her desk. Her voice was cheerful, yet laced with panic. 'Let's not fight over this. Thank you Chloé for delivering such important, although sad news. Maybe in future you could practice how to pass it more… eh… compassionately?' She chirped.

Chloé's lips quirked in malicious smile.

'I bet I know who was kind enough to point out Marinette's "experience" to the judges,' Alya said accusingly.

'Let's not be hasty,' their teacher chided. 'I'm sorry, Marinette, that you won't be competing in this contest,' she turned to the girl. 'But I'm sure there'll be plenty of other occasions for such a talented girl as you. And hey, wasn't it nice of Chloé to notice how experienced you are?' she added, clearly pleased with finding that one positive thing that could be said about her student.

Chloé fluttered her lashes innocently. 'Glad I could help, Miss!'

'See, Marinette,' Miss Bustier smiled at her. 'Think positive!'

Marinette took a deep breath. She turned around. Adrien was standing at the door, Nino at his side. He looked between Chloé and Marinette and pressed his lips into thin line. She saw his fist clenched over the strap of his bag, knuckles nearly white. For a moment she thought he'd say something, but he averted his gaze to the side and slipped into class keeping his head low.

She felt fear rearing its ugly head, fear she thought she buried long ago, thanks to the boost of confidence the red mask had given her. Fear of being inadequate, weak, not worthy of attention and recognition, of respect. Of friendship. Of love.

This time she didn't see Adrien slipping into class, not engaging into conflict, not taking sides or action. This time it was Chat who turned tail, who chose not to stand by her side. And it hurt more, even though she knew, he had no idea as to her secret identity.

Tears were already stinging her eyes, but she willed them away. Ladybug's words rose from the depths of her memory.

_You should worry about yourself more, Marinette. You should care about yourself more._

There were more failures in her life in the last days than she'd care to admit, but this was the final straw. She won't give them the satisfaction of bringing her down once again. She won't let Miss Bustier talk her into taking the high ground. That hurt, humiliation and disappointment finally overflew and Marinette decided to go with it.

With one last look to Adrien's hunched form she straightened up and turned to face Chloé again.

'I give up,' she threw her hands in the air. 'I'm sorry, Miss Buster. I'm just fourteen. I've been bullied by Chloé for years now, with no reaction from the adults who should protect me. I've seen her bully other kids, grown-ups, even her father, and yet you keep pushing me to see the good in her. You keep telling _the victim_ she should try harder, do more, care more.'

Marinette felt comforting pats from her purse. She had no idea what Tikki would say after all this, but right now she knew she had her kwami's full support.

'I'm tired of constantly being the only one to make the effort. I'm not going to be the one who is always asked to forgive and forget, to set an example. To think positive,' she spat. 'I've had enough.'

She pointed to Chloé, who gaped at her in shock. '"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing!",' she recited. 'Here's an idea. Let Chloé prove she's not evil, let _her_ do something good for a change. I give and give and give and it never seems to be enough.'

Her voice faltered for a moment. She felt everyone's eyes on her, but she kept staring at the blonde classmate.

'You win, Chloé,' she announced. 'Whatever game you've been playing, you win. You're the prettiest, nicest, most talented and fashionable, best dressed _and_ a superhero at times. You can have the title of class president too, because I quit. I quit!' she repeated turning to her classmates. 'I'm tired. I'm tired of proving myself. I'm tired of you not seeing who the bad guys are. Of trying to out a liar only to be accused of lying and being jealous. Just leave me alone. You won.'

With that she bolted for the door leaving the shocked silence behind. She didn't stop until she was safely in her room, where she put the red bucket to good use.

* * *

_Author's Note: I am very curious what you think of this chapter. I promise that from now on we will slowly head to more positive events. This is one of those lowest points. _

_Thank you for your reviews, favs and follows. I am aware that this story is not an easy fluff or funny crack. I am glad you want to read it anyway._

_And thank you Remasa for motivating me to continue and for beta reading!_


	19. New look

**#19. New Look**

Marinette woke up to the smell of honey and jasmine. A soft hand rested on her forehead and brushed the bangs away.

'How do you feel?'

The girl cracked one eye open. Her mother was sitting next to her on the chaise. A mug of herbal tea was steaming in her hands.

'You have a light fever,' she said. 'Do you think you're going to be sick again?'

Marinette shook her head. She felt drained and numb, as if she'd run a marathon but her stomach had finally calmed down. She still felt the bitter taste in her mouth, though she wasn't sure if it was just because of being sick or because of her speech. The experience, though unpleasant, had a cathartic quality to it.

She looked to the windows. Bright sunlight poured through the glass. It must have been around noon.

Sabine adjusted the blanket, so that Marinette's feet would still be covered. She picked on a loose thread, brows knitted, lips tight.

'Miss Bustier called while you were sleeping.' Her voice was gentle, but it quivered betraying the emotions bustling underneath the surface.

'She did?' Marinette rasped. Her throat was still sore. She took a sip of the tea.

'She was worried about you,' her mother said. 'She told me what happened. Alya was here too, asking for you. She feels really bad, by the way.'

Miss Bustier, Alya. Her morning outburst must have made quite an impression, she thought bitterly. She briefly wondered what exactly her mother heard.

'Am I in trouble?' she asked. 'I said some really nasty things and disrespected a teacher.'

Sabine stroke her cheek. 'No, honey. You're not in trouble. But I do have an appointment with Miss Bustier and Principal Damocles this afternoon.'

So much for her catharsis.

Marinette failed to see how that didn't mean she was in trouble. Her teacher _and _the principal. It was a big deal. She probably should have known better. The guilt kicked in.

'I'm sorry, Mom.'

'Don't be,' Sabine's eyes hardened. 'The appointment is at my request. I had no idea things had gone this far.'

Marinette felt the nausea approaching again. All the black scenarios danced in front of her eyes with vertigo inducing twirls.

'I know what Chloé did today wasn't nice,' her mother fixed her with a stern look. 'But I know you, young lady. This isn't like you to lash out on someone like that.'

The girl opened her mouth to protest, but Sabine silenced her with a raised finger.

'You didn't say anything disrespectful from what I've heard. You just exploded. And I want to understand why.'

Of course. Of course she wouldn't understand. Marinette never told her parents exactly how much of a brat Chloé had been to her. Sure, she complained from time to time. But neither her mother nor her father knew the extent of Chloé's cruelties. This wasn't a onetime thing. The load had been accumulating for years.

'Is there anything else you want to tell me?' Sabine encouraged in the same gentle tone. 'Maybe something else happened, that made you angry or stressed or…'

Marinette pursed her lips and said nothing. Only now she realized how coiled up she'd been that morning, as all the emotions she had kept bottling up finally burst.

'In class you apparently said something about a liar,' Marinette's mother prompted. 'Miss Bustier told me you were in conflict with the new student from Italy. Want to tell me something about her?'

Yeah, right. Lila wasn't even there, and they still managed to drag her into it. And once again Marinette would get the blame, once the drama begins. She felt tears pooling in her eyes, so she turned to face the wall.

'Honey,' she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder. 'I am always on your side. Whatever reasons you have to say that girl is lying, I believe you. I need to know everything if I'm going to make Miss Bustier and Principal Damocles see things differently.'

Marinette had no idea how long had she waited to hear those words. To hear that someone believed her and would do something about it. Relief washed over her. Even if it wouldn't solve her problems, she was grateful.

'What do you mean?' she looked at her mother.

'It's clear things have been overlooked for too long. And that's partially my fault. I intend to fix this mistake, either by making your school address the matter or by changing school,' she promised. 'I won't let them dismiss today's incident by saying you overreacted. I know you, honey. I'm not a fool. And Alya might have filled me on some details you forgot to tell me,' she admitted. 'I need Bustier and Damocles to have a good look at what's happening under their noses. A new look!' She declared with passion.

'Thank you.' Marinette's voice was small, but she hoped she managed to convey how thankful she was.

Sabine sent her a tender smile. 'You need to rest now, honey,' she declared standing up. 'I'll bring you something to eat later. You clearly need a break, so you won't be going back to school for a few days. I'll take care of that.'

She ruffled Marinette's bangs earning herself a weak smile in reply. Marinette wrapped herself tighter in the blanket as the trapdoor closed behind her mother. She drifted off into a shallow dreamless sleep.

* * *

_Author's Note: I am absolutely overwhelmed with your reactions to that last chapter. Thank you for all your reviews. I'm glad you found this so important. Please let me know, what you think of this chapter too. From this point things should change for better._

_Once again I want to thank Remasa for her assistance with this story!_

_Next time on TGitM: Dress-up. I can't promise a regular schedule in the next few days, as I'm going to be in hospital, and on mobile only. But be patient, because I'm not done with Marinette March yet!_


	20. Dressed up

**#20. Dressed up**

The last thing Marinette would expect upon waking up again was a whisper-quarrel.

'See what you've done?' A small voice raved. 'I hope you're proud of yourself.'

'I will admit this might have gone better,' the second, much deeper and calmer voice replied. 'But it wasn't my fault she kept suppressing it all until it was too much.'

'You could have warned us.'

'I didn't know about this.'

'I notice you used "know", not "remember",' the small voice dripped with acid.

'This didn't happen last time. Not like that, not so soon.'

'Last time there was no encouraging Ladybug around,' the first voice snapped.

'Why are you like this?' The deeper voice sounded hurt.

'Why do you act like Auntie Good Advice?' The small voice retorted.

'Oh, for the love of god, will you two just stop fighting for a minute!' Marinette lost her temper.

She sat up only to see Tikki and Ladybug on her bed, locked in a staring contest. They deflated as soon as they saw her, choosing to look to the ceiling in identically innocent poses. She couldn't help but to snort at the sight.

'How long was I asleep?' she asked.

'A whole day,' Tikki said. 'It's evening already.'

'Your mom left you some food,' Ladybug pointed to a covered tray resting on her desk.

'Good,' Marinette patted her belly. Now that the stress was gone, her stomach twisted in complain. 'I'm starving.'

There was enough food to feed three Marinettes so she shared with Tikki and Ladybug.

'What do you want to do?' she asked, as her two companions chewed in silence. 'I don't think I'm going to sleep anytime soon.'

'Nothing school related,' Ladybug stipulated.

'You need to relax,' Tikki chirped at the same time.

They looked to each other and pursed their lips. Ah, Marinette thought, what a fun evening she was going to have with these two squabbling all the time. Unless…

'Actually, there's one thing I've wanted to try for a very long time…,' she drawled.

Two raised brows and two uttered "oh?"s were her cue to go on. She reached to one of the desk drawers and took out a red sketchbook.

Tikki buzzed in alarm. 'Oh no, you don't!'

Marinette deployed the ultimate weapon, the kitten eyes. She'd learned from the best. Only Chat could rival _that_ look.

Tikki pouted and looked away.

'Don't be so stiff, Tik!' Ladybug gave her a little prod and offered another macaron. 'Let's have some fun. There are some really cool designs in there,' she tempted.

The kwami cast a glance at the sketchbook. Marinette had it cleverly opened on the most promising gown, with sparkling crystals, a long train and satin ribbons. It screamed 'over the top', just like Tikki preferred. Her chosen shook the sketchbook encouragingly, as if she dangled bait right in front of her eyes.

'There's no point,' Tikki crossed her paws in front of her chest. 'It will take hours to make even one outfit. And that one would take much longer,' she countered.

'Hours?' Ladybug licked her fingers. Her smirk could rival a tiger rounding its prey. 'Why would it take hours? Show me what you got there, Marinette,' she reached for the sketchbook. 'My, my, I forgot about that,' she grinned.

Marinette and Tikki frowned, as the heroine kept browsing through the designs.

'I think I would start with this one,' she pointed to a hooded jacket and aladdin-style pants combo.

'What are you-' the sprite shifted her gaze from the sketch to Ladybug. Her eyes widened in comprehension just as the older girl uttered the spell.

'Lucky charm. Lucky charm.'

_Plop. Plop._

A tiny red hoodie with cute little ladybug print and miniature burgundy harem pants came into existence in front of them.

'Wanna try them on, Tikki? Ladybug purred. 'I know you want to,' she sing-sang.

Marinette was having a difficult time holding in her laughter. Tikki's internal struggle was written all over her face. Little beads of sweat dripped down her head.

'I can charm the gown next,' Ladybug added with a sly grin.

An hour and about ten different outfits later Tikki decided she was never going to take the gown off.

'I will admit they would look better in a wider color range,' Ladybug mused, giving the kwami an appraising look. 'But you can't have everything.'

'True,' Tikki ducked her tiny head. The ruby tiara on top slid to her forehead.

'How about her?' Ladybug tilted her head in Marinette's direction.

The girl was smoothing the wrinkles of the cutest tiny clothes she had ever held. 'M-me? she stuttered. 'You want to make me an outfit?'

But the heroine didn't reply. Instead she kept staring intently at Tikki.

'What?' the little sprite grumbled. 'Now?!'

Ladybug only hummed in reply.

'Fine,' Tikki rolled her eyes. 'But don't think you can bribe me!'

'What are you guys talking about?' Marinette's brow furrowed.

'Marinette,' Ladybug smiled brightly. 'What would you say about an upgrade?

'An upgrade?'

'I think it's time,' the heroine drawled, 'Ladybug dresses up, too.'

* * *

_Author's Note: I'm back from my prolonged stay at the hospital to give you the last update on this story in March. I promise I will finish it, though I won't be updating it daily. If you want to make sure you don't miss any chapter, fav or follow the story or me. Thank you for all your support so far. I haven't replied to reviews yet, because I've been well… busy… but I'm definitely going to do it this next week._

_If you like this fic, let me know in your reviews. Check out my other stories too!_

_A huge thank you goes to Remasa for beta-reading this chapter. _

_Next on TGitM: #21. Tactician. _


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